INQUIRER STOCK PHOTO
MANILA -Water utility company Tubig Pilipinas Group Inc. (TPGI) plans to build its first septage treatment plant in Coron, Palawan province this year as it seeks to expand its business and provide potable water outside Metro Manila.
Pure Energy Holdings Corp. subsidiary on Thursday said it would partner with Coron Rural Waterworks and Sanitation Association (CRWASA) for the project, which is set to broaden TPGI’s service connections in the municipality, a popular tourist destination because of its beautiful beaches and diving sites.
“We currently cover around 400 to 500 service connections [in Coron] and we’re looking to increase that to about 1,000 to 2,000 through the water improvement project,” TPGI chief operating officer Mark Roxas told reporters.
A septage treatment plant cleans human waste and wastewater by removing sludge and keeping disease-causing organisms from entering the environment.
The construction of the Coron treatment plant, which Roxas said would cost “a few hundred million pesos,” is part of TPGI’s expansive goal of providing clean water to 100 million Filipinos outside Metro Manila.
TPGI president Ryan Yapkianwee said they recently secured funding from one of the country’s top conglomerates to help achieve this goal and reach underserved communities, noting that 57 million Filipinos lacked access to reliable and safely managed sources of water.
This funding is on top of a foreign-backed environment, social and governance (ESG) fund that TPGI expects to close in the coming months.
“We have been lucky to be recognized by some foreign funds. These foreign funds are classified under ESG funds and we fit exactly into their profile because for you to qualify, you have to have environmental and social impact,” Yapkianwee said.
TPGI works with CRWASA and the Coron local government to protect the municipality’s main water source.